Sole proprietorships are registered in British Columbia by filing a “Statement of Registration Sole Proprietorship” with the British Columbia registries office.
Step 1: Choose a business name
Although there are few restrictions on a business name, you should choose your name carefully. Business names:
don’t have to be unique; duplicate business names may exist
however, if you choose a name that is the same as, or similar to, an existing business name, corporation name, or trademark, the owners could take your business to court; you may have to change your name or pay damages to the owners
cannot use the words ‘limited’, ‘incorporated’ or ‘corporation’ at the end of the business name, since that would imply you are running a corporation
cannot use the abbreviated forms of these words (such as Ltd., Inc., or Corp., or the French forms/abbreviations of those words)
if you’re registering a limited liability partnership, will need to include ‘limited liability partnership’ or the abbreviation ‘LLP’ at the end of the name, or the French terms ‘Société à Responsabilité Limitée’ or ‘SRL’
Step 2: Request and Reserve a Business Name
In British Columbia, sole proprietorships wishing to register a new business name in the province must have their name approved and reserved for their use before they can proceed with the registration, so the second step in the registration process is to request a name reservation for your proposed business name.
Step 3: Fill out the form
The third step is to prepare and complete the “Statement of Registration Sole Proprietorship” form.
Step 4: File the Form and Pay the Fees
The four-step is to file your “Statement of Registration Sole Proprietorship” form with the British Columbia registries office and pay the British Columbia government fees.
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Sole proprietorships are registered in British Columbia, according to the provisions of the British Columbia Partnership Act. Registration is completed by Filing a Declaration of Trade Name Registration with BC Registries Office.
